Watchmen (2009)

Most people think so. 70% of audiences gave it a thumbs up based on 9,841 votes. Critics agree, scoring it 60%.

In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. Wikipedia ↗

Watchmen is a 2009 American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder, based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's landmark 1986-87 comic book series. Set in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president and the Cold War is approaching nuclear midnight, the film follows the investigation into the murder of the Comedian, a government-sanctioned superhero, which draws his former colleagues — including the godlike Dr. Manhattan, the ruthless Rorschach, the retired Nite Owl, and the billionaire Ozymandias — back into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the world.

Zack Snyder's adaptation of what was long considered the most unfilmable comic book in existence was remarkably faithful to Moore's visual compositions, with entire panels recreated shot-for-shot. Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach was the film's breakout performance — his gravel-voiced narration and uncompromising moral absolutism captured the character's terrifying appeal. The film's exploration of morality, power, and the corruption of heroism was far more philosophically ambitious than any previous superhero film.

Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" scored an opening montage depicting the alternate history of costumed heroes that was widely praised as one of the finest title sequences in cinema. Watchmen earned $185 million worldwide on a $130 million budget, an underperformance commercially but a film whose reputation has grown considerably among fans and critics.